Barrington Life

Barrington retailer sells items made only in U.S.

Deborah Leydig, owner of Norton's U.S.A., sells items that were made only in America. (Veronica Jones)

BARRINGTON
– Combing through the clothing racks in big department stores, few tags
include the sentence "Made in the U.S.A." At Norton's U.S.A. in
Barrington, that's the only kind of tag you'll see.

Owner
Deborah Leydig has made it her mission to sell only American-made
products in her store, though she's found certain items just are not
made in the U.S.A. anymore.

When she opened her shop six years ago
on Lageschulte Street, she had products from only 20 American
companies. Business has grown and she now has 425 that she does business
with.

"It is continually growing the more people are aware of how
important it is to shop local, and to buy American, because all the
money stays here and it makes jobs," Leydig said. "There's a whole
segment of society that doesn't have a job because we don't manufacture.
Not everybody can be a doctor or a lawyer."

There are some
products she has a hard time finding to sell in her store, though she'll
do some pretty extensive research if a customer asks for help finding
something American-made.

"Men's clothing is really hard," she
said. "We make T-shirts. We don't make many towels. There's one company
that makes towels. There's no sheets really."

Leydig's focus on
American products came after reading "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting
by in America" by Barbara Ehrenreich. She wondered how many items were
actually still being made in the United States, since labor in other
countries usually is cheaper.

"I truly believe every country should manufacture," she said. "It's the heart and soul of a nation."

Norton's
recently added online shopping to the store's website, allowing patrons
throughout the world to buy American products. Leydig said even with
the online possibilities, 90 percent of her business comes from those
walking through the front door.

Scott Glander is a regular
customers who comes from Evanston to buy items made in the U.S.A. Every
item of clothing he had on during a recent visit was made in this
country and he said he makes buying American products a priority.

"I literally feel better," Glander said of his shopping habits. "This is the only store I enjoy coming to."
Both he and Leydig said it is worthwhile to pay a little more for things
that are made in the country, since they're frequently better quality.

"They're great and they're going to last a lifetime," Leydig said.

There
are many American companies that stopped making things the way they
used to, and some that sent products to be manufactured overseas.
Thermos is an example of this: When Leydig was asked by a customer to
help find a Thermos, Leydig was only able to find vintage ones, since
the products are now made in China.

"Vintage isn't putting people to work," Glander said of why that product still isn't ideal.

The
issue of buying American-made products has gained international
attention in the last few weeks, after a factory in Bangladesh collapsed
and killed more than 650 people. Conditions had been unsafe yet workers
continued to make clothing for western companies.

Leydig said that with the laws and regulations in the U.S., that would not have happened in this country.

As
more people become aware of the difference between buying American or
from oversees, more people are visiting Norton's U.S.A. and Leydig is
trying to get to know the community through this.

On June 13, the
store is having its sixth anniversary celebration, with events including
sales, raffles and bingo going on all week. The store also plans to
show a movie June 15 that will be projected onto the outside of the
buildling for the public.